Realty News Roundup: Builders Want A Realty Revolution; Buyers Prefer Ready-To-Move-In Flats

Realty News Roundup is PropGuide's selection of top stories from the real estate sector

Top News

Builders and experts believe that a real estate revolution is essential to meet the growing demand for homes in India. They feel that a revolution of the same scale of green and white revolution is essential to meet India's need to shelter its people. Read more.

A report in Bangalore Mirror says that new trends in the real estate market suggest that buyers are no longer willing to wait for years to occupy their flat. Most buyers prefer ready-to-move-in flats. Read more.

The parliamentary committee's report on the Real Estate Bill is eliciting responses from home buyers and builders. Reports suggests that while buyers largely support the clauses in the bill, many think that the bill leaves ample opportunity for arbitrary interpretation, allowing builders to evade their responsibilities. Read more.

A special report in The Hindu Business Line says that new online real estate portals in India are making the home buying experience easier. The report mentions the features offered by PropTiger.com. The report says that Proptiger.com allows you to compare features of various projects. PropTiger.com also lists non-curated projects because investors may prefer to take risks. Moreover, the portal allows you to track updates, like the latest prices across your property portfolio. Read here.

In a crucial verdict, the Pune district consumer disputes redressal forum ruled that a builder cannot charge Value Added Tax (VAT) while selling flats in Pune if the VAT became effective after he has secured completion certificate from the municipal corporation. Read more.

Off the front page

Smart City watch: Latest reports suggest that Navi Mumbai, Rajkot and Bhubaneshwar are leading the race for the Smart City project.

Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB), which was formed to provide reasonably-priced homes for the middle and lower-middle classes, asked one of its allottees to deposit Rs 7.5 lakh for defaulting on a payment of Rs 1. Read here.

Real estate innovation: An Indore-based 29-year-old techie has developed a construction management software called 'Gameplan' that allows digitisation of real estate projects, from planning till execution. Read more.

Opinion

An excellent column on how India's Kumbh Mela is used as an incubator for the smart city start-up ideas. Read here.

A piece in Business Standard explains the factors that can influence your property's value if you want to sell or lease it. By spending a small amount of money, you can increase the value of your property. Read here.

Readers respond: Referring to an article published by the Business Standard, "Why real estate may not crash", Kishor Kulkarni from Mumbai argues that it is possible that builders will lower home prices. Read here.